>> panic and terror as dozens are killed in central syria. the attack happened as the u.n.'s arab league mediator lakhdar brahimi arrived for more talks. hello. this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up -- protesters take to the streets in the thousands over a brutal gang rape. after weeks of suspense, mario monti said he will not run for

reelection. but he could lead of future italian government. and the head of the u.s. gold lobby goes on -- the u.s. gun lobby goes on television to defend his position that guns should be in every school. and trouble in south africa. hello there. welcome to the program. all they were trying to do was buy bread. it turned into a tragedy in central syria. dozens of people are reported to have died when the bakery they were queuing at was destroyed. the un envoy arrived in syria for more talks. we have this. >> panic, chaos, anger. this is the aftermath of what

the opposition says was an air strike carried out by a syrian fighter jet. those killed and wounded were queueing outside a bakery. only five days ago, this area was under the control of government forces. the rebels recently opened a new battle for this section of central syria. the state still has superior firepower to the strike back. the government says it is willing to engage in dialogue, but the other side is not. >> i have general advice. time is getting short. hurry and move toward us. these military efforts to topple the government are not getting rid of the president or occupying the capitol. >> defiant words and defiant actions on the ground.

but the opposition believes the government has been weakened and is looking for a deal to stay in power. un and arab league special envoy lakhdar brahimi is in damascus to find a settlement to this work, but it is not clear whether he has a proposal. diplomatic sources have told al jazeera is trying to strike a deal to ensure an orderly transfer of power. but sources are not expecting a breakthrough, even though according to them the position of the american and russian governments are closer than ever. scenes like these will continue of the two sides are not willing to compromise. al jazeera. >> more than half a million syrians are registering or pending registration as refugees in neighboring countries.

the latest figures from the u.n. refugee agency show that more 164.5 -- 164,000 are awaiting registration in lebanon. more than 142,000 syrians are registered in turkey. many are camped near the border with turkey. >> what can we do? we are called. everybody is one gray. what can we do? the water flows through my sense. -- everybody is hungry. the refugee center gives us two loaves of bread for six people. >> there were told not to protest by the indian government, but nevertheless, thousands poured onto the streets, venting their anger

over the brutal gang rape of a young woman thrown by a boss. they faced teargas as they marched on the president's palace. >> defiant protesters, men and women, once again out in the streets of new delhi for the seventh day in a row. they have demanded an immediate justice for the 23-year-old girl who was raped by a group of six men last week. >> we are here for the justice for that girl. we wanted to be amended so that no one can dare to think about doing such an act once again. every now and then, a girl has been getting raped. is this the world we are living in? what kind of is this? -- what kind of hell is this?

>> almost 40,000 rape cases are in court awaiting trial in india. of the viciousness of this attack seems to be a turning point for many indians. >> we are standing here, united. we certainly believe -- >> the government has announced that section 144 of the criminal code has been imposed. it is a position that bans unlawful assembly. a large number of police and paramilitary have been deployed since early this morning. but nothing can deter the protesters. >> these protesters, who are trying to get to the government, they are on this side from the police. now they're blocking the road.

they are demanding immediate justice for the victim. >> as the protest turned violent, after demonstrators fought police when they tried to break the barricade. police once again used teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. >> the leaders would come and speak to the. this is a new generation. and new generation. india it is emerging as a new power. they are actually taking them to the streets. >> as she fights for her life in hospital, her supporters continue to fight for justice on the streets. al jazeera. >> in the north of the country, a journalist covering a protest over an attempted rape has been shot dead. the demonstrators -- a local

woman alleged she was sexually assaulted last week. a definite curfew has been imposed in the area. anger has intensified against the authorities. >> they should bring up the policeman that shot the journalist. the whole department has failed to perform its duty. the government should resign. we will intensify the protest until the government take appropriate actions against the police. we are even ready to sacrifice our lives. >> tourism officials say that's fighters smashed four of the mausoleums in timbuktu on friday. they believe that they are blasphemous to islam. it is the latest response to a u.n. resolution calling for

international intervention to remove the rebels from northern mali. they said that they have raided a hijacked ship had rescued 22 hostages. 123 people are still being held by somali pirates. keeping and italians in suspense for weeks, outgoing prime minister mario monti has ruled out running in february's election. he said that he would consider running the government in the future. we have this from rome. >> available to lead italy again, if needed. on sunday, italy's former prime minister mario monti announced his plans after his resignation. >> i am not joining any specific party, but i would like the parties to take home these

ideas. these ideas or any other ideas. we need to come up with ideas. and i hope the ideas here, contained in the manifesto, will be adopted by the vast majority of parliament. >> he will not run directly in the next election or side openly with any parties, but he says he would be ready to leave the country again. on one condition -- the next ruling party follow the strict plan of reform set to bring italy back onto the path of economic growth. monti was forced to resign on friday after former prime minister's silvio berlusconi's party withdrew its support. been criticized his pledge -- they criticize his pledge to retract some taxes he had budgeted last year.

he returned here to the official prime minister's residence. whether he will be here after the election depends on whether the coalition allows him to finish the job. >> he has the capability to be useful in a second moment when the election maybe can give our result with not a very strong winner, but the necessity of recognition. and he is a man who can be useful to leave the government. > i don't think that monti's manifesto will change anything in the italian state. politics is quite embarrassing. i think his resignation will not bring much here or in europe. >> i heard that even if he distances himself he can contribute to contribute as a real leader to our country, because our country is in are really difficult situation. i hope that he can do something

positive. >> campaigning for the elections will start officially. in the end, he may be called again to lead the country out of the economic crisis. al jazeera, rome. >> still to come -- security remains tight inside the egyptian presidential palace after the opposition rejects a referendum. and fired tear through a market in the afghan capital, destroying thousands of shops. we will back in just a few minutes. >> hello. the weather is looking pretty good over eastern brazil. the showers have drifted away

over the heart of the amazon basin. 1 or two showers over the east. temperatures around 32 degrees. we will see highs around 30 celsius in buenos aires. pretty humid. i would not be surprised if we caught a rumble or two of thunder. you could see some temperatures around 26 celsius in santiago. we're seeing some rather wet weather. showers drifting away across venezuela. rather wet weather across the caribbean. further north, more activity, 30 degrees celsius with lovely sunshine. and sunshine across the u.s. at the moment -- we of clouds and

rain streaming across the southern parts. that will make its way north as we get into christmas eve.

>> welcome back. a reminder of those top stories -- syria and activists say a government strike killed dozens of people queuing for read. in india, thousands of people have defied a ban and continued protests against the rate of a

young woman in new delhi. -- the rape of a good -- of a young woman in new delhi. mario monti says the most important thing is to get italy's economy back on track. the opposition leaders in egypt have called for an investigation into allegations of fraud. the muslim brotherhood says 64% voting yes after two rounds of voting and 36% voted no. the official votes are expected on monday, but the turnout for both rounds was incredibly low, averaging around 32%. we have more now from cairo. >> the opposition response was quick. been maintained the position they do not consider the constitution -- they maintain the position that they do not consider the constitution

legitimate and will continue fighting it by peaceful means. >> we will not allow them to change the identity of egypt going forward. and we will also change the constitution. >> after claiming irregularities, the high election commission promised to look into them thoroughly, but it is not clear if the election will deem these irregularities secure -- serious enough to investigate. in cairo, the opposition begins. >> the constitution is built on iran foundation. we revolutionaries have promised god and ourselves that we will struggle. we will win or we will die. >> but not everyone agrees that the document is lot. >> the referendum was completely free and fair. i saw it with my own is. over 66% voting yes.

the egyptian people remain committed to the results of the ballot as part of democracy. >> it was the lowest turnout from any vote sends the revolution. voting may have ended, but the controversy continues. the fact that many people decided not to vote at all shows and difficulties with the leadership of both camps. and the presidential palace is barricaded by security forces after protests. is now up to the leaders of the opposition to bridge the gap between them and the people. cairo. >> and a non-resident fellow at the u.s. think tank joins us. good to have you with us. good evening with you. a little on the referendum and its results. it is obviously causing some controversy. is the referendum and its

results irrelevant? >> i think that it is not so much irrelevant as it has a message to be given to both sides of the equation. the yes votes and the no vote camps have failed to bring out a majority of the egyptian people even to vote. and that is quite troubling to the future of egypt's political arena and the support that each of these political camps actually have. >> so, what happens now? what options do they have? >> the position has been trying very hard to see how it can navigate this new political arena. they have come out from a position of some weakness that did not exist in any format prior to the revolution. most of these parties are brand new. they were formed in the aftermath of the uprising. they have a long way to go in

terms of maturity. they have been formed by riffs, in terms of this agreeing on common strategy and so forth. it is not surprising. they have different ways of looking at how the country should be run. i think particularly after this referendum result, they will look to see where their cause based in egypt achilleas, which city is coming outside the city's -- in egypt actually is, which cities, coming outside the cities where most egyptians actually live. bringing the muslim brotherhood for a proper political platform for the position itself. >> while all this is going on, the egyptian economy is in very crude shade in dade. what will its stake to get more addictions behind him as he tries to kickstart the egyptian economy -- get more egyptians behind him as he tries to kickstart the egyptian economy?

>> that is the million-dollar question. economy is what will suffer the most of the next few months. it is what has been on everyone's mind. this is what most egyptians are thinking about beyond issues of politics. it is not clear how far mr. morsi will get, particularly if he does not try to build consensus with other forces in the country. i think the economy will be linked to how far mr. morsi can take the political spectrum here in egypt and i think that affects out egypt is pursued overseas. and that affects the egyptian economy at large. >> joining us live from cairo, thank you very much. simmering sectarian tensions have erupted into protests in

iraq with thousands demonstrating in the country's western heartland. they are demanding the release of bodyguards for the sunni finance minister who were arrested on thursday. protesters say this is another example of sectarian policies. we have this report. >> a show of support for the iraqi finance minister. a defiant message from the city's upper ramadi and falluja. the local council has called for civil disobedience. thousands of blocked the highway is into iraq. they are demanding the release of nine bodyguards of the finance minister who were arrested on thursday keeping they are calling on the government to stop its sectarian approach and martin -- marginalization of their leaders. >> the situation in iraq may

take a dangerous direction as elections approach. what politicians are doing is polarizing their supporters ethnically and based on sectarian affiliation. what is happening in anbar to escalate and made lead to more pressure on the prime minister. >> prime minister nouri maliki had denied the allegations. he added in a statement that the government is responsible for pursuing an wanted terrorists and not to support them. but the syrian leaders accused the prime minister of trying to consolidate his grip on power and target political rivals. iraq's future vice-president has been sentenced to death in absentia for charges of terrorism. >> he is pushing iraq over. if he is not sectarian, let him

release them. let him stop targeting sunni leaders. let him let them have jobs in the room provinces. >> president barack obama said the u.s. was leaving a stable and secure democracy, but the events of the last year showed that iraq does not disable more secure. >> a large fire has swept through the afghan capital of kabul. fire trucks arrived quickly, but there was millions of dollars worth of damage. the bank, located in the market, managed to move their money before the fire. >> this is one of the busiest parts of kabul. as you can see, everything is closed. at devastating fire. it is not just this row of buildings.

hundreds and hundreds of shops have been burned, the shopkeepers telling us they have tens of thousands of dollars in the shops. you can see much merchandise has been destroyed. it is going to be very difficult to estimate the damage is here. it will probably be millions of dollars. was it pannede as -- but the influential leader of the nra has gone on television to push for armed guards in every school. >> on friday, the national rifle association was blunt about how to stop the mass shooting in u.s. schools. >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> the nra leaders blamed the media, hollywood, and video

games for gun violence and refused to answer questions about elite force security guards in schools. now the main spokesperson has appeared on u.s. television shows defending his organization's positions. >> if it is crazy to put police in schools, then, the crazy. >> the national rifle association is one of the most influential political organizations in the united states. since the shootings, there have been calls to ban military-style weapons like the ar-15 used by the gunman. >> trying to prevent shootings in schools without talking about guns is like trying to prevent lung cancer without banning cigarettes. >> i do not suggest you take my right to buy an ar-15 away from

me. >> according to the brady foundation, more than 200 people a day are shot in the united states. these are some of the headlines from the past week. four people killed in a shooting in blair county, pa.. three-hour standoff in topeka, kan. in for the man shot dead. a high school student charged with making gun threats against the local school. congress may take up some gun control measure in the new year. no one knows whether a newtown change the collective appetite for guns in civilian hands or not, but the battle for gun control could be a long, drawn out affair with dangers for politicians on both sides. al jazeera. >> a senior mexican official has announced he is quitting. he is -- he has rejected allegations that after 23 years of service -- he faced strong

criticism following a shootout in june in a mexico city airport. he says the charges are empty and unfounded.